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I am travelling to Montaoine on 27th August for 1 week with my family (husband, 2 sons aged 7 and 8 and my parents) and I am looking to arrange some activities while we are there. We have several challenges! My husband and I both drive but we are interested in a wine tour while we are there and prefer not to drive but to enjoy the wine - however, my mother has limited mobility (trouble walking) and I cannot locate a wine tour that would pick 6 of us up from our villa and return us afterwards? Perhaps one that is ok for children to have some fun on too? We are also interested to see the production of Olive Oil, is it possible?

Also, we are perhaps interested to visit Florence while we are there. We worry whether it is too crowded and whether the children will be entertained. We prefer not to drive to the city and in the traffic. Again, we wonder if you know of any organised tours from Montaione?

We are aiming for a mix of activities and relaxing and sightseeing while there - we are interested in San Gimignano, and would also love for a cooking lesson at our villa that we could all join in and then enjoy!

Also, I have heard that it is a nice idea to visit the coast - any recommendations or would this not be worth devoting a day of our holiday to?

I understand that there is a train station about 10km from Montaione and wondered where I can find out more information on the services running from there?

Thank you so much for any information in advance - this forum is a goldmine!

I used NCC: essemazzini@gmail.com Simone speaks English just fine, you can try writing him and asking about availability. If he is not available, he works with many others and can assist you in finding someone.

As for the train you will be looking to pick it up in Castelfiorentino (the name of the closest city with a train station) - and a train with NO changes leaves at 9 and 9:30am and takes less than 45 min --- be sure to look for the trains with no changes. The train is great if you are thinking about going to Florence because it will leave you in the city center, where you can either pick up public transport or walk where you want to go. You can find out more about the hours here: http://www.trenitalia.com/

I was going to recommend you look into the ladies at Kitchen Chez Nous as they would be perfect for that cooking class at your place. As for the wine tour, definitely an NCC would be perfect -- remember you can also ask at your accommodation whether the owners have someone they trust from the area that they already work with to offer wine tours/tastings in the area.

For the day trip into Florence, I would suggest you drive either to Castelfiorentino train station, park and take train in or to Empoli and do the same (would avoid a train change, possibly). As Donna suggested, take a look at the timetables on trenitalia.com to find the more convenient trains.